Burner jet and valve for cigarette lighter of the gas type



v Nov. 23, 1965 s. H. NEWMAN BURNER JET AND VALVE FOR CIGARETTE LIGHTEROF THE GAS TYPE Filed April 18, 1962 INVENTOR STmvLEY A. NEWMAN UnitedStates Patent Filed Apr. 18, 1962, Ser. No. 188,410 3 Claims. (Cl.677.1)

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending applicationSerial No. 671,053, filed July 10, 1957, now abandoned.

This invention relates generally to improvements in cigarette lightersof the so-called gas type, meaning of the type utilizing butane gas orthe like as fuel. In such lighters the fuel is contained in a suitabletank or receptacle under such pressure that the major portion of it isnormally in liquid form and one of the difliculties encounteredheretofore has been to provide for ready control of the gas to the jetor burner for ignition, while ensuring against leakage at all othertimes.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improvedcombination burner or jet and valve structure which will overcome theforegoing difficulties and thereby ensure a reliable flame at eachlighting and an extremely long-lasting fuel supply.

The invention will be readily understood from the following descriptionand the accompanying drawings which depict the structure, much enlarged,in FIG. 1 in top plan, in FIG. 2 in vertical section on the line 22 ofFIG. 1, and in FIG. 3 in horizontal section on the line 33 of FIG. 2.

The structure includes and the components to be described are mounted ina cylindrical body 1 having an open, internally threaded upper endportion 2 and a reduced diameter or counter bored lower sectionterminating in a flange 3 defining a restricted opening 4. The body maybe mounted in and soldered or otherwise suitably secured to the upperwall of the gas tank or receptacle of which a portion is indicated at 5.

Seated on flange 3 within the lower end of the body is a wick holderhaving a central upstanding boss 11. As shown, the boss is perforated toreceive wicks 12 which, it will be understood, depend into the liquifiedfuel in the tank and provide a continuing supply to the top of the wickholder.

Mounted above the wick holder is an inverted cup 15 dimensioned totelescope over the upstanding boss of the wick holder. The cup, which isa sliding fit in the reduced diameter bore of the body, is surrounded bysuitable gasket material 16, such as Buna N rubber and within the cup isa body or pad of fibrous, compressible material 17, such as absorbentpaper or the like. The inverted cup 15 has an upstanding centrallydisposed portion 18 having a through bore 19 leading to the top surfaceof the portion 18 which comprises the valve seat of the structure.

The pad 17 is thus disposed in a chamber (in this instance ofcylindrical form) the end walls of which comprise the top surface of thewick holder boss and the under surface of the inverted cup member; andthese surfaces are apertured to provide fuel ingress to and egress fromthe chamber. As will be understood, the fuel is supplied to the chamberand pad, through the wicks, in liquid form and, when permitted, escapesfrom the chamber and pad in gaseous form through bore 19.

Engaged with the .body threads is a nut member 25 having an enlargedhead 26 which is disposed and accessible from above the top of thebody 1. The lower end of the nut has a reduced diameter portion 27substantially fitting the smaller bore of the body and bearing on theperiphery of the upper surface of the inverted cup.

The nut has a central bore 30 with a reduced diameter central opening 31at its upper end. A jet tube or burner See member 32 which is a slidingfit in opening 31 has an enlarged lower end 33 which is a loose fit inthe nut bore 39; and recessed into the enlarged lower end of member 321s a washer or gasket 34 adapted to make sealing engagement with theupstanding seat of the inverted cup. Gasket material 40, such as Teflon,encircles and seals the jet tube at its upper end and a coil spring 41surrounding the jet tub serves to bias it downwardly to seal the gasbore 19. A transverse hole 42 through the jet tube above its enlargedlower end 33 intersects the central bore 43 of the tube.

At its upper end and disposed above the top of nut 25 the jet tube has areduced neck 45 forming above it a head 46 beneath which a suitablelifter (not shown) may be inserted to raise the tube against the actionof its spring 41. When the jet tube is raised, the gas escapes aroundthe enlarged lower end of the tube and, by way of hole 42 and jet tube43, flows to the jet tip 47 where it is ignited by spark or othersuitable means in the known manner.

It will be seen that -by rotating the nut 25 (as by a suitable toolinserted in the hole 48) the surfaces constituting the end walls of theabsorbent pad chamber are caused to move toward or from one another andhence to vary the degree of compression to which the pad 17 is subjectedand, hence, the rate of feed of the gas when the valve is open. This, ofcourse, determines the size of the flame at the jet tip. It will beclear that this adjustment of the flame in no way changes the sealingaction of the valve, because the moving parts (including both the valvegasket and its seat) all move together.

It has been found that to ensure a steady or constant flame at variousadjustments of its size, the absorbent pad should not be uniformlycompressed over its full crosssection but that portions of it should becompressed only lightly, if at all, in order to allow at least somecontinu ing supply of liquid fuel to the pad. Different portions orsections of the pad may be subjected to different degrees of compression.by providing at least one of the end wall surfaces of the pad chamberwith a protruding portion as,

in the preferred form illustrated, by making the top surface 50 of thewick holder boss of convex form. In the result, the central portion ofthe pad is compressed when the flame adjustment nut is screwed down,while the peripheral portion of the pad remains relatively uncompressed.Thus, the wicks, which are preferably disposed off-center, as shown,continue to supply liquid fuel to the relatively uncompressed edges ofthe pad, whence it is sufliciently absorbed by the compressed centralportion to continue to supply gas to the jet tube.

In certain types of gas lighters, the tank 5 may be provided with afilling opening through which the tank may be initially charged andsubsequently recharged, a from a compressed gas cylinder. In othertypes, the burner valve unit may be an integral part of an otherwisesealed tank and, in that event, other provision must be made for fillingor refilling of the tank.

According to the present invention such a sealed tank may be filledreadily and quickly through the valve unit itself. This is accomplishedby so relating the forms or shapes of the pad and its chamber that,before the pad is compressed by tightening up the adjustment nut memberto a normal operating position, an unobstructed duct is providedextending between the end walls of the pad chamber so that fuel inliquid form injected into the burner opening 47 (with the valve open)can readily find its way past the pad and into the tank through oraround the wick holder. For this purpose the wicks can be either oftubular form or very loosely composed so as to provide for the passagefor the fuel. The fuel admission duct may readily be formed by removingone or more portions of the pad.

In the preferred form in which the foregoing principle or arrangement isexemplified herein, the pad has one or more peripheral portions removedso as to space it from the chamber walls; or, in other words, while thepad chamber is circular in section, the pad is of non-circular section.As shown in FIG. 3, by Way of example, the pad 17 is more or lesssquare, thereby forming spaces or ducts 55, between its edges and thecircular chamber wall. Thus, the incoming fuel is free to flow throughbore 19, then readily outwardly over the uncompressed pad thendownwardly around the edges of the pad. By this means the filling can beaccomplished very quickly and after all the valve components have beenassembled excepting only for the final tightening of the adjustment nutto compress the pad and thereby et the gas discharge rate to provide anappropriate flame size. It will be recognized that after the pad hasbeen so compressed the filling duct described above is obstructed (bythe tight engagement of the top of the pad with the top wall of the padchamber) so that there can be no escape of fuel in liquid form into thejet tube but only of gas evaporating from the saturated pad.

It will also be apparent that the unit is, at the same time, a safetyvalve. If, for example, the lighter equipped with the describedstructure should inadvertently be placed where it is subjected to undueheat, the resulting pressure increase Within the fuel receptacle islimited to that necessary to overcome the bias of the coil spring andopen the valve to permit gas to escape. Thus, with a suitably selectedspring, there need be no danger whatever of the 'fuel receptacledeveloping excessive internal pressure and rupturing itself.

As will be recognized, the components are simple, both to make and toassemble and experience has proven the structure to be extremelyeffective in ensuring against loss of fuel by leakage.

The following is claimed:

1. In a'gas lighter burner and valve combination of the type including apad of compressible material to which fuel is supplied in liquid formand from which the fuel escapes in gaseous form to a burner jet and inwhich the amount of fuel escaping in gaseous form is controlled bysubjecting the pad to various degrees of compression, the improvementwhich comprises means for compressing said pad, said compression meansincluding a substantially fiat perforate upper platen and a curvedsurface lower platen, whereby said pad may be compressed to a lesserdegree at its side edge portions than at its central portion.

2. In a gas lighter as defined in claim 1 and further including meansfor maintaining the pad in alignment between said platens, said meansincluding flanges perpendicular to said upper platen, said flangescontacting only a portion of the side edge of the pad.

3. A combination burner jet and valve structure for cigarette lighterscomprising a cylindrical body having an open, internally threaded upperend and a flange defining a restricted opening at its lower end; a wickholder seated on said flange within the said lower end and having anupstanding boss; an inverted cup mounted for sliding movement in thebody and adapted to telescope over the upstanding boss of the wickholder, said cup having an upstanding centrally disposed apertured seatportion; absorbent compressible material disposed in the cup andcompressible by it against the top of the wick holder; an adjustment nutin the said threaded upper end of the body with its lower end engagingthe cup, said nut having an enlarged head disposed and accessible fromabove the body; a jet tube slidably mounted in the said nut; a washercarried by the lower end of the tube and adapted to seat on and closesaid apertured seat portion of the cup when the jet tube is at the lowerlimit of its movement; a coil spring encircling the jet tube andabutting a portion of the nut at its upper end and an enlarged portionof the jet tube at its lower end to hold the said washer in apertureclosing position; and a head on the upper end of the jet tube disposedabove and with its lower surface spaced from the top surface of theadjustment nut.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,732,699 1/1956Ward 67-7.1 2,737,037 3/1956 Zellweger 677.1 X 2,743,597 5/1956 Newman677.1 2,892,251 6/1959 Felt 677.1 X

FOREIGN PATENTS 681,777 10/ 1952 Great Britain.

EDWARD 1. MICHAEL, Primary Examiner.

MEYER PERLIN, Examiner.

1. IN A GAS LIGHTER BURNER AND VALVE COMBINATION OF THE TYPE INCLUDING APAD OF COMPRESSIBLE MATERIAL TO WHICH FUEL IS SUPPLIED IN LIQUID FORMAND FROM WHICH THE FUEL ESCAPES IN GASEOUS FORM TO A BURNER JET AND INWHICH THE AMOUNT OF FUEL ESCAPING IN GASEOUS FORM IS CONTROLLED BYSUBJECTING THE PAD TO VARIOUS DEGREES OF COMPRESSION, THE IMPROVEMENTWHICH COMPRISES MEANS FOR COMPRESSING SAID PAD, SAID COMPRESSION MEANSINCLUDING A SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT PERFORATE UPPER PLATEN AND A CURVEDSURFACE LOWER PLATEN, WHEREBY SAID PAD MAY BE COMPRESSED TO A LESSERDEGREE AT ITS SIDE EDGE PORTIONS THAN AT ITS CENTRAL PROTION.